


love is blind but so is justice

by Supersoda



Category: Legion of Super Heroes - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Cop AU, F/M, Fluff and Angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-21
Updated: 2019-05-08
Packaged: 2019-11-01 22:34:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,875
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17876111
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Supersoda/pseuds/Supersoda
Summary: Rokk finally bites the bullet and sets up his partner and his best friend on a blind date. What could possibly go wrong?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This has been sitting in my drafts for over a year now. I've written 85% of it already so I have no plans on abandoning self-indulgent fic.

Imra was late. Fifteen minutes late to be exact. She hated being late but with being held up at the precinct and with all the traffic she didn’t have much control over the situation. After being stuck in the same spot for 5 minutes she contemplated turning on her siren but she didn't want to risk a grilling tomorrow morning. So, as a result, she was late.

Imra gave herself a quick once over in her review window once she pulled up to the bar and killed the engine. She fixed her lipstick and cursed herself for not carrying an extra pair of nylons on the glove box.

_'Not like I’d have any time to change anyway.'_ She thought to herself locking her car and pulling her skirt over the run, besides, it’s not like she’s going anywhere important. Just a blind date. If she was lucky the Rokk’s friend would end up being a total dud and she could fake an emergency to get home in time for Project Runway. If she was being honest with herself, it wouldn’t be the first time. Some would call her picky, but the way she saw it, she had limited free time in her line of work, she didn’t want to waste it on accountants who moonlighted in various cover bands. Yet here she was, at a bar meeting with a total stranger who she prayed didn’t own a keytar.

The bar itself was nothing out of the ordinary, The Clubhouse was the official haunt of Imra and her colleges to the point where the whole staff recognized them. She did a quick scan before she found him sitting in one of the booths along the outer brick wall. Being a Wednesday night the bar wasn’t anywhere near full capacity so it was easy to spot him under the low light of the different neon signs amongst the regulars who sat on stools at the bar or by themselves looking far more relaxed. He fit Rokk’s description he gave her only hours ago; 6’2’’, Ginger with a lightning bolt looking scar over his right eye. Imra was glad that she saw him first. It gave her a chance to centre herself and check her phone only to see the “ _Good luck tonight! Go get some :P_ ” text from Tinya still unanswered from earlier. She kept the smile that text gave her and made her way over to her date before he caught her staring.

“Garth right?” The ginger jolted out of his seat.

“Uh yeah, Imra right?” She nodded and they both slid into the booth, the old red leather creaking under them. “I gotta admit I was starting to think you weren’t coming.”

“I am sorry about that, the traffic on the way was worse than I thought.” Imra apologized as the waitress came and took their drink order. Garth also ordered a plate of fries for them to share, which secretly Imra was thankful for. She hadn’t eaten since lunch and was not planning on drinking on an empty stomach.

“So,” Garth started once the waitress was gone, “You work with Rokk right?” Imra nodded,

“Yeah, we’ve been partners since the academy. It’s funny that we haven’t met before now, Rokk told me you two were university roommates.” Garth nodded fiddling with a coaster.

“Yeah but I moved back home after graduating, I’ve only been back in New Metropolis for a few years now. And you know Rokk, he doesn’t like mixing work with his personal life.”

“True, and yet he set up his partner with his best friend.”

“He must be up for one of those police mandated psych evals right, you should have his sanity checked out.” she laughed. Imra wanted to ask about why he decided to move back but the waitress came back with their drinks and fries so she let the question drift to the back of her mind.

Two plates of fries, a couple of drinks later, which Imra convinced Garth to let her pay for since she kept him waiting, they were standing next to her car in the brisk night air.

“I had a really fun time tonight,” Garth said with an easy smile. He kept his hands in the pockets of his jacket Despite the weather being not yet cold enough to warrant it.

“I did too,” she confirmed stepping down from the curb, “I'm glad Rokk talked us into it.” Garth laughed,

“So am I, but next time though you’re letting me pay.” Imra smiled back,

“Sounds like a deal.”

She liked the idea of there being a next time. She hadn’t had a date that led to a ‘next time’ in a while. Trying to date while being a cop, especially a cop part of a task force was damn near impossible, she didn’t know how Rokk and Lydda did it.

At this point, she should have unlocked her door and wished him good night. She would have done it but this time she held off, leaning on the side, hoping he would get the message. He must have because he stepped closer, almost looming over her and went in for the kiss.

It was the cherry on top of her entire evening. His hands stayed in his pockets and hers stayed against the car. Yet there was still this openness to take it further and the little voice inside her head was chanting to do it. To grab his collar and pull him in and do… Something she would probably later regret. She barely knew him and as he was one of Rokk’s oldest friends, he didn’t deserve to be just a one night stand. So, blaming it on the rosè, she let the kiss end and tried not to look disappointed it was over. He wished her good night as he stepped away.

She returned the wish and got in her car giving a final wave before backing up and out of the parking lot. The last Imra saw of Garth was him getting into a well-used pickup.

“Of course he drives a truck” Imra scoffed and turned up the radio, though never really paying attention to what was on. 

* * *

 

It wasn't until she was inside her apartment that she checked her phone to find multiple missed calls from Tinya. When Imra called back, she picked up on the first ring.

“Hey, you're alive!” Tinya practically screamed. Imra laughed clicking speaker and changed out of her work clothes.

“Tinya I'm a cop. I carry a gun. I was never in danger.”

“You also never answer take this long to call me back and yet here we are.” Tinya waited for a beat, “so I'm guessing it went well?” Imra tossed her ruined nylons into her trash.

“Actually it did” Imra felt herself smiling at the memory, Tinya must have noticed it in tone

“Damn it Imra if it wasn't for the very sexy dog trainer in my bed right now I would be at your door ready to dish in less than a minute” Tinya must have also had her on speaker when Imra hears a slightly exasperated “I'm a K9 officer, not a dog trainer” followed by “I'm glad you're date went well boss.” Imra smiled.

“You tell anyone at work tomorrow Londo, you'll be lucky to get a job as a dog trainer,” using only her semi-serious voice.

“Yes, ma’am.” He replied and she could imagine him giving a mock salute. The rumour mill at work was vicious and even if Rokk and Brin were subtle, Imra knew it wouldn’t be long.

“Well Tinya as much as I love you grilling me about my love life, I do have some paperwork to do.”

“I know you're lying,” Tinya responded, “but I'll let you get away with it this time. But we will talk this weekend or else I will send the secret service after you.”

Imra promised to grab coffee knowing that Tinya was only half kidding about the secret service thing. Being the president's daughter did have some perks and it wouldn't be unlike Tinya not to try. But that was a worry for another night. Imra checked the time and smiled before searched through her PVR for Project Runway and settled in for the night.

* * *

 

Halfway across town Garth Ranzz was thanking his lucky stars that he allowed Rokk to talk him into the blind date.

Garth never believed in love at first sight. But something about tonight, about Imra, that was different. He wasn't quite sure what it was but he was gonna try his damnedest to find out.

He barely remembered the drive home himself. He kept going over every single detail. Her smile her laugh, even the sound of her voice. Garth had it bad for Imra Ardeen and he knew it. It wasn't really until he entered his apartment he shared with Ayla that he came back to reality.

“How'd it go?” His twin called from the couch where she sat with Salu. The two took advantage of Garth being out and had a “stay in” date night and were watching a movie. Garth tossed his keys in the bowl next to the door and flopped down next to the couple.

“It was good. Really good actually. Probably the best date I've had in years.” Ayla paused the movie and looked at him eyebrows raised.

“Really? Last time you texted me wasn't she 10 min late?” She asked.

“That had slipped my mind actually.”

“Hmm she must be cute, you did always have a weakness for the cute ones” Salu teased, she Ayla had been together long enough that Garth allowed her a jab every now and then, and besides, he was in too good of a mood tonight.

“I’d say it runs in the family” Ayla smiled giving Salu a boop on the nose. The smaller woman giggled kissing Ayla in the cheek. Deciding to give the two some privacy, Garth headed to his room, but before he could get very far Ayla stopped him with her arm.

“Oh, before I forget, Mom and Dad called, they wanna speak to both of us at some point. They say it’s nothing serious or urgent.” Garth nodded,

“We can talk to them over the weekend, we’ve got a busy day tomorrow. Rond says he’s got a big job for us.”

Ayla nodded and hit play on the movie. Garth headed to his room at the back of their small two bedroom apartment; his good mood now slightly dampened. He knew his parents; he knew that if it was really nothing then they would have just told Ayla trusting her to pass the message along. Garth prayed that it wasn’t about the farm finances. Usually, they had no problem breaking even but it looked like they might be in for a rough planting season and there was no way that either Ayla or himself could get down there to help. He flopped down on his unmade bed trying to bring back all the warmth and fuzzies from earlier. He wished he had grabbed a beer from the kitchen when he had the chance. If he went for one now, knowing his sister, there would be no telling what he might walk in on.

Instead, he fished out his phone from his jacket, the only message there was from Rokk asking him how it went. He sent off a quick reply and closed his messages only to reopen them seconds later, this time to Imra contact page. He stared at the textbox for what seemed for the longest time, thumbs hovering in indecision. Finally, frustrated with how he was acting like a teenager, he sent the text.

_“I had a lot of fun tonight, are you free Saturday?”_

As soon as it was sent he closed his phone and started getting ready for bed feeling like a weight had been lifted but still somewhat anxious. He was brushing his teeth in the bathroom when he heard it vibrate. Knowing that there was a very real possibility that it was just Rokk, Garth tried to keep his heartbeat steady. 

_“Sure! Meet me at Centennial Park at 12? I promise I won't be late :)”_


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, it's chapter 2! I'm still on track for this thing! Enjoy the new chapter and why not just drop a lil love in the comments! I guarantee you it will make my day. 
> 
>  
> 
> The next chapter should be posted in 2-3 weeks (since its final paper season, I'm gonna be a busy bee)

There was snow slowly drifting through the chilled air when Imra walked through the front doors of what her team lovingly called “Star Pavilion”. In reality, it was the HQ of their organized crime task force, they had commandeered the third floor of their police precinct and at this point, she couldn’t remember which one of them started to call it that or why but it stuck, but it did. Now it stood as their own little code word.

Rokk was already sitting at his desk reading when she got off the elevator. If he noticed her walking in he didn’t bother looking up, in fact, it wasn’t until she was settled at her own desk facing him that he opened his mouth. 

“I heard last night was a success, care to give me your input?” Rokk didn’t put the file down but lowered it just enough to make eye contact. Imra arched a brow and looked around at the mostly empty bullpen. Thankfully it was still early enough that most of the others weren’t in yet.

“I would agree with that.” She replied taking a sip of her tea, sounding nonchalant. 

“You make any plans to see him again?”

“Saturday actually.” He seemed satisfied with her answer and changed the subject closing the file and passing it over to her.

“No new solid leads on the Vanguard yet but one of my C.I.s around the city tell me that there is a new body in town shaking up things with gangs possibly including Vanguard.”

“Does this new problem have a name?” She asked opening the file and flipping through its contents. Most of it was surveillance photos of the same person; tall, bulky, and way too well dressed and way too well guarded to not be trouble. All of them looked to have been taken by a camera from a phone and were way too zoomed in to figure out details

“Malik Imperiex” Rokk answered, “so far I can't find anything definitive on him but if my source's tone is anything to go by then he could be a major pain in all our asses.” Imra sighed and took another sip of her earl grey. It was just what they needed at this point. Last year had brought to close their first big case in bringing down the group known as the “Fatal Five” and ever since there had been a scramble for the power the Five had held for so long. Turf wars had broken out between smaller gangs and now the possibility of a major boss coming in they risked losing any bit of control they had on New Metropolis’ organized crime.  

In the hopes of being proactive, Imra sent an email to their resident tech expert Brainy requesting any and all information about Malik Imperiex planning on spending most of her day getting to know the guy. She always felt that she did her best detective work if she really knew the person and could get inside her head. That coupled with her natural ability to read people was what earned her workplace reputation as being telepathic. There was no truth to the rumours of course, but it helped with intimidation more often than not, so she leaned into it. Everyone on the team had their special talent, like Brainy who already replied to her email with a mountain of information on Malik Imperiex. The files ranged from newspaper articles to international case files that Imra was surprised Brainy could get his hands on so quickly. But then again, Querl “Brainy” Dox was a genius and was bound to find some way of obtaining them.

After only a few pages Imra knew that Malik Imperiex was bad news if she ever heard of it. He had been investigated for mob activity in three other countries, but each time he slipped through their fingers on technicalities and loopholes. They would have to be careful with this one, he was smart which made him a whole other level of dangerous.

The day droned on and Imra slowly waded her way through the files until she and Rokk were called away to investigate possible gang associations in a robbery. Louruno was in the middle of showing her pictures of wedding dresses she had tried on the previous weekend when Rokk came to get her. 

“I’ll send you the rest” Louruno called after her, which Imra gave her a thumbs up to and let Rokk brief her on the way downtown. 

“The call came in about a half hour ago about a 132 at an electronics store. The owner identified the perp as having white hair, and a “V” tattoo on the inside of his wrist.” 

“A Vanguard member? But I thought they had gone underground?” Imra asked not taking her eyes off the traffic that whizzed past them. The Vanguard were nothing but mid-level drug dealers whose territory took up most of the Suicide Slums. Each member of the local gang was marked with a tattoo to ward off those who weren’t serious about joining. They had been quiet for a year now, everyone figured that they had closed ranks after the takedown of the Fatal Five, or at least, until now. Rokk nodded, 

“That’s what I thought too but it looks like they opened up ranks for new blood.” Imra sighed, this was exactly what they needed at this point. With Imperiex is town this meant a possible take over and revamp of Vanguard's entire M.O. The very thought was enough to give her a headache. The robbery was far outside Vanguard territory, it this was their initiation, the gang was really testing their new recruits. 

When the two detectives got there, there wasn’t much they could do that hadn’t already been done. The scene matched that of a textbook robbery, C.S.I did their sweep while Imra and Rokk collected statements from the owner.  

“You said the perp had white hair correct?” Imra asked, the owner, who was already annoyed that he was getting asked the same questions twice sighed, 

“Yeah, and it didn’t look bleached either, it was more grey. All the guy took was cell phones and whatever cash I had in the register.” 

“He didn’t take anything else?, No tablets, no laptops?” Imra asked, 

“Like I told the other cop already, phones and cash only.” He answered, now sounding even more exasperated.

“Thank you, Sir,” Rokk said making a final note and closing his notepad, “We’re going to need your security footage.” The older man nodded and motioned them to follow him to the back. The tape didn’t show. The grainy footage wasn’t much, but he was able to show them a visual of the perp. From what Imra saw at a first glance this was the guy's first robbery. He was nervous with the gun, made up for it through is overconfident movements but still had the underlying shake if uncertainty. Another thing she noticed was that get seemed to know where all the security cameras were. 

“Do you keep a backlog if your security footage?” She asked

“Yes, ma’am.”

“We’re going to need your last month's worth. The perp most likely came in earlier to find any camera blind spots. Hopefully, that will let us get an ID.” The owner nodded handing them a beat up box of CDs and thumb drives. 

“Well there goes our evening,” Rokk mumbled as the two exited the store. The snow from early had now melted in the afternoon sun making the streets and sidewalks full of sticky snow and slush. 

“Aint no rest for the wicked Krinn” Imra smiled at her partner, which didn’t seem to help his mood. Imra, on the other hand, was excited, this was a lead, something for them to do instead of sitting with their thumbs up their asses waiting for Imperiex to make the first move. Rokk clearly didn’t see it that way.

“Tell you what,” she said as Rokk set down the box with a thump in the trunk of his car,  “dinner is in me tonight.”

* * *

 

Seven hours and pounds of Chinese food later the two detectives were ready to pack it in. It was long past 6 but they had gotten lucky with Imra’s hunch; the perp had shown up multiple times before to case the place.  

The footage didn't give much more if a description but thanks to the help of their genius tech expert, what the two were able to discover was that he didn't have the Vanguard tattoo in the earlier tapes; meaning that his ink must still be fresh.

“Looks like your hunch was right Rokk; Vanguard is holding auditions again,” Imra remarked leaning back in her chair. 

“Just what we need right now.” He sighed and rubbed his eyes. 

“Hey, it wouldn’t be fun if it was easy.” Her retort earned her a smile from Rokk. Imra excused herself to go to the bathroom but when she came back she found Rokk still sitting in the tech office still staring at the footage; specifically at the frames where you could almost see the guy's face.

“Hey Brainy, any way you can enhance this?” Rokk asked turning to their younger coworker, who was also pulling a late night.

“The resolution is too low, this isn’t T.V…  and I told you I hate that nickname.” He responded without looking up from his work.

“Right, sorry Querl” Rokk sighed. Imra took the seat next to Rokk studying his gaze instead of the perp on the screen. “What do you see?” she asked. 

“Nothing,” He answered, “I thought- no… it's nothing.” Rokk paused the footage and leaned back as far as the chair would let him without falling over and resting his hands behind his head. 

“You thought what?”

“I thought he looked familiar for a second. I remember reading an old case file where the perp was of a similar description, minus the tat obviously.” Imra found this odd. Rokk had been her partner for some time now, almost since the two of them graduated from the academy, yet this perp didn’t ring any bells. 

“You’re sure? Doesn’t look familiar to me.” She pointed out taking a closer look at the screen.

“Nah, this was an old case, we were still at the academy, and it was a couple of states over.” By the way, Rokk was still looking at the screen he seemed like he was trying to convince himself more than her. Had she been new to the precinct she would have pressed him, but she knew her partner. If she asked any more questions he would only deflect. Her best bet was to keep an eye on him. If Rokk kept on this guy then she would know for sure something was up, but for now, both of them had bigger fish to fry. With the possible expansion of Vanguard and Imperex looming over them like storm clouds, a small robbery wasn’t exactly top priority. Even the Vanguard connection was shaky. Yes there was the tattoo but the Vanguard never did one off robberies, they were too organized for that, too well connected already. Imra checked her watch, 

“Ok, you two it's getting late, time to go home.” She told both of them yet, neither moved. Imra sighed 

“Come on Rokk I know Lyddia is going to wonder where you are and Brainy” she took a beat, “I think you have someone waiting for you as well. Plus I know that if I don't see you out you will just stay here all night and I can’t let that happen.” She patted Rokk on the shoulder and eyed Brainy until he sighed and logged off his monitor. She smiled at her victory; if she was a workaholic then Brainy was married to his monitor. Being the youngest one in the team he had quickly, and against his own free will, become everyone’s little brother. Everyone kept an eye out for the techie; making sure he ate and went home to sleep before he worked himself into early retirement or worse. The whole squad considered it a major victory last month when they convinced him to go out for drinks. She waved goodnight to Rokk as she waited for Brainy to gather his things. 

“You don’t need to babysit me” his tone was matter of fact with only the slightest hint of annoyance. 

“I know,” she replied, “but you’re my friend and maybe I just want to hang out with you when we’re not trying to hunt down a mob boss.” Brainy made no reply but pushed his green-rimmed glasses back into place on his nose. There weren’t many people still in the office when they were leaving aside from the security guards. Imra tried to keep up a conversation with Brainy asking him about his cat or personal life but Brainy kept his answers short and enigmatic. They were just about to part ways, Brainy to the subway and Imra to her car, when Brainy’s phone rang. Imra peaked the name “Clark” on the caller ID and caught Brainy’s half smile. 

“Tell him I say hi.” She said nudging him and catching the smallest hint of a blush from her colleague. Imra made her goodbye and headed across the street wondering if she should go to the gym tonight or tomorrow morning. It was still light out which was nice; the sun only just began to set and dye the clouds the soft hues of pink and blue. It was a sign that the cold of winter was melting away and the possibility of spring was on its way. Even the air felt fresher though it still had a chilling bite. Imra pulled her scarf tighter around her against a gust and made the executive decision that she would pull an early night and leave her workout til the morning.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey so two weeks turned into 3.... turned into 4.... but I blame exams and my exhaustion so with me finishing off not just the semester, but my undergrad in just under 2 weeks (even though I have to wait 2 months to actually graduate smh) hopefully updates will get back to the 2 week schedule (though chapter 4 will probably take another 3 weeks bc still... exams)
> 
> that being said I hope yall enjoy! And feel free to send the love in the comments!

There was something that Garth really enjoyed about working with his hands. It tied back to his farm raising and despite the fact that he dealt with wires and currents instead of dirt, it did nothing to lessen the joy. He was still nostalgic for home though. Especially when he and Ayla skyped their parents and he could catch glimpses of the familiar farmhouse in the background. The twins hadn’t been back home since the Christmas before last. Their boss Rond Vidar had hit the jackpot with some big projects which kept the two of them very busy, but the money was good and Garth had plans to make a trip back home during the summer. Yet the sporadic calls with their parents could only do so much and Garth longed for the smell of freshly tilled earth again.

Tonight however any warm feelings that Garth might have were frozen by the worried looks on his parents' faces. They were more exhausted than usual and now they all knew why. 

“Has his parole officer said anything?” Ayla asked sitting beside him in Salu’s old university sweatshirt. Their father shook his head,

“All he would say is that Mekt missed another check in and when he went to Mekt’s work he found out he hadn’t been there in a week.”  

“So what do they do now? Send out a bounty hunter to drag his ass back to jail?” Garth mumbled under his breath and promptly received a swift elbow to the ribcage and a pointed look from Ayla. 

“I-I mean,” he cleared his throat, “what happens now? How do they find Mekt?”

“He didn’t give us details but if Mekt doesn’t show up soon, things could get ugly. With Mekt’s record, they say he’d be looking at more jail time.”

“Have either of you heard from him?” Their mother asked. Both shook their heads. Garth wouldn’t know how to reach his big brother even if Mekt wanted to be found. After the incident, he made sure to cut ties with all of his family, especially Garth and Ayla.

“We’ll keep our eyes and ears open for him though” Ayla smiled trying to lift the general mood. “Anyways how’s home? Any interesting news?”

The conversation between the four goes on jumping from topic to topic; the Hendersons’ boy got married, dad got enough hires for the planting and so on until the questioning turns on the twins themselves.

“So,” Their dad asked, “What’s new with you guys? Ayla hows Salu?” Ayla tells them about Salu’s latest project at the lab and Garth doesn’t have to look at her to see her sly smile when she tells them, “Garth has some interesting news you two might want to hear” All eyes turned to him and he froze for a second. 

“Uh yeah- We start a brand new project tomorrow for some new office complex downtown, it’ll be our first case of commercial construction.” He plastered a phony smile to try to hype up the accomplishment. He knew that that wasn’t at all what Ayla or his parents were expecting him to say. 

“That’s… nice dear.” Their mother replied sounding surprised yet at the same time disappointed. Their father shared the same confused look.  

“Well it’s getting late and we have a big day ahead of us tomorrow,” Garth hurried, needing to end the conversation now before either his parents pried or Ayla sold him out. They send a hurried string of “good nights”, “we love yous”, and promises to talk soon. He slumped back into the couch once the call was over and sighed not willing to meet his twin’s gaze. 

“What was that about?” Ayla asked looming over him and pouting. 

“What do you mean?” Garth continued to try playing dumb, unfortunately having a twin means they know all your tricks. 

“What after years me being the sole target of their nosiness into their children’s love lives why wouldn’t I want to bring up the fact that you’re seeing someone.” Ever since Ayla came out in college their parents had taken an active role in her love life. Being the supportive parents they are, they tried to set her up with every girl they knew in town. It wasn’t until Salu that they stopped playing matchmaker but even then they did everything they could to welcome Salu to the family. Their gestures while sweet, danced ever so close to smothering. Which was why Garth didn’t want them to know. The last thing he wanted was for his mom to start following Imra on Instagram. Or worse, bring her into the whole Mekt situation. 

“We went on one date.” 

“Which you haven't shut up about since.” Garth rolled his eyes and Ayla scoffed. “It’s true, I know more about your date than what I’m doing tomorrow. Besides I thought they could use some good news after Mekt.” Garth sighed. 

“I will tell them once I’m sure. It’s still too early to tell where this is going.” He promised. “I-- I just don't want to push this.” Now it was Ayla’s turn to roll her eyes. 

“Fine, but if you don't tell them in two weeks, I am.” She threatened and walked away.

“You wouldn’t,” Garth called after her but got no response. The silence sending a chill down his spine.  


 

* * *

 

Despite Garth’s best attempts, the recent news about Mekt continued to act as a permanent rain cloud over his head. He was looking forward to today not only because he was seeing Imra but he hoped that the walk in the fresh air would clear his mind. There was something about the freedom and flexibility of just walking a park trail or around the waterfront that appealed to both Garth and apparently Imra as well. So they walked. 

The awkwardness of idle chatter melted away and Imra, feeling particularly brave, slid her hand into Garth’s, interweaving their fingers.

“This is nice,” Garth said squeezing her hand. She leaned against him returning the squeeze. 

“It is.” She replied smiling, “Despite the weather” she commented looking at children play with the slush that spotted the grass. The two enjoyed their walk in Centennial Park; having been there awhile and walked most of the main paths the two wandered between soggy piles of leaves that had been frozen all winter, now defrosting under the warmth of the sun. Now there was less of a chill in the air and the winter was giving them it's final push before a late spring. 

“Yeah but it's the perfect location, the building I’m working on now is just two blocks away. And it’s close by your precinct so we could meet up for lunch once it gets warmer.” 

“This is the same building that you electrocuted yourself correct?” Imra asked giving him a side eye.

“ _ Almost electrocuted _ .” he clarified, “very important distinction. One can lead to nerve damage, the other doesn’t.” Imra chuckled and they continued off the little path and back into one of the larger open areas of the park with a duck pond in the centre.

“IMRA!” A woman came out of nowhere and had spotted them. She was in dark sunglasses and snapback like she didn’t want to be noticed. Not that it stopped her from shouting at Imra from across the duck pond. Imra still smiled and waved back pulling Garth towards them. The three met in the middle of the walking bridge over the pond. 

“Who is this?” Garth whispered as they approached.

“You'll find out,” Imra whispered back before letting go of his hand to give the woman a hug.

“So this is why you’ve been putting off our plans.” The woman teased lowering her sunglasses and looking Garth up and down. “Well, I must say Rokk’s really outdone himself this time. I might have to send him a fruit basket to thank him.” She removed the sunglasses and held out her hand towards Garth beaming.

“Tinya Wazzo, President's daughter and your worst nightmare if you do anything stupid.” The tone not matching the words was enough for him to hesitate.

“Tinya” Imra warned giving her a look; Tinya merely rolled her eyes clearly not threatened by Imra. Garth shook her hand slightly wowed. 

“Garth Ranzz. How-- how do you two know each other?” He asked still amazed that he was shaking the hand of someone who has been on magazine covers.

“Oh, our mom’s go way back,” Tinya answered still shaking his hand. “The two of us spent a lot of time in courtrooms while they proved to the world that women in politics are a force to be reckoned with. And they still are, my mom’s sitting in the white house and Imra’s is one of the best ambassadors France has ever had to deal with.” Garth looked over at Imra who was still glaring at Tinya. 

“Wait your mom is Sydnee Ardeen? The Sydnee Ardeen???” 

“I was going to tell you eventually but-”

“Imra’s a tough nut to crack, I’ve known her for years and I still have to pull information out of her.” Tinya explained, “Which reminds me, you” Tinya dropped Garth’s hand to point at Imra, “you still owe me a girls night. I am very close to setting my secret service dogs after you.” 

“Speaking of which,” Imra said giving a 360 turn of the park, “where are your ‘dogs’? Give them the slip again?” Tinya laughed,

“Well, a girl can’t have any fun with three burly men by my side.” She checked the time on her phone, “Well I have to run now. Soon they’ll notice that I’m not just taking a very long bath and I don’t need another lecture from my mother about ‘appropriate behaviour’.” She gave Imra another hug, 

“I will see you soon.” Imra nodded, “And you,” Tinya said making eye contact with Garth that he would admit intimidated the hell out of him. “Make sure she keeps you around. I like the look of you.” It took him a second to realize that she was expecting a response.

“I’ll uh, do my best?” The words tumbled out and Garth smiled hoping he would get out of this encounter alive. Tinya waited a couple of seconds before answering.

“Well, I guess that’s all we can really hope for. Talk to you later darlings.” Tinya walked off the footbridge and was soon lost amongst the other park goers. Garth still wasn’t sure just what happened. 

“Well,” he said turning back to Imra, “that was something.”

“Yes,” she sighed and slipped her hand back into Garth’s as they continued their walk, “she can be a little… intense.” 

“That’s one way of putting it.”

“That’s what comes with being a politician’s daughter. When your whole life is about your parent, you learn to be your own person very fast.” From the sound of her voice, Garth guessed that she was talking more from personal experience.

“Sounds lonely” He spoke softly giving her hand a comforting squeeze. 

“It can be, Tinya and I were lucky to find each other when we did. Well it was more like Tinya found me and dragged me into our friendship,” Imra smiled and Garth wondered which memories were brought to mind, “but as I said I was lucky to have her to keep me company.”

“So why not go into politics like your mom?”

“I was always drawn to law enforcement. While politics can help people it's mostly long term. As a cop, I have a more direct impact on the community.”

“Wow… that’s a really poetic way of saying it.” Garth stammered making Imra laugh. 

“What about you?” She asked,  “Why choose to be an electrician?” Garth shrugged.  

“Eh, it was a good way to make money to help out my parents out after my brother left, after a while, I started to enjoy it.” 

“What happened to your brother?” It was an innocent enough question to ask but Garth couldn’t help but hesitate. Imra, thankfully, caught on, 

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. I know what it feels like to have difficult siblings.” 

If this had been a normal second date, Garth would have thanked her for understanding and changed the subject. But this wasn’t a normal second date, Imra wasn’t just anyone. Yet the words still stuck in his throat. He knew he would have to tell her one day, but now with Mekt on the loose, the subject was too raw. 

“You have no idea,” out of the corner of his eye Garth spotted an ice cream truck taking the risk of opening early. By the looks of the small crowd of children around it, it had worked.

“Wanna grab some ice cream?” He asked, turning them in the direction of the truck.

“Isn’t it a little early for that?” Imra asked quirking her eyebrow.

“There is nothing better than ice cream on a cold day”

“Are you sure about that?”

“Absolutely, besides I still owe you for the drinks.” With that Garth finally won her over and the two moved towards the truck letting their hands swing in the crisp air. 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eyyyyyyy so technically this is still on time cause I said it would probably be 3 weeks till I had time to post the next chapter but still, hopefully, that won't be a problem anymore bc I am officially done, my undergrad! So with all this free time, I'm hoping to have a better update schedule! (Though who knows bc a) im working on my manuscript for my novel and i might start a podcast with a friend and b) it's me)
> 
> Anyways I hope y'all enjoy the chapter! Things are about to pop off soon in this fic so hold onto your shit. If ya like what I'm doing let me know with a comment!
> 
> Next chapter should be up in 2 weeks.

Imra hated dead ends. Weeks had gone by and she and Rokk had gotten reports of two more robberies committed by their perp, every time he got in and out quickly, avoided all cameras, every time the same description: grey hair peeking out from his mask and a Vanguard tattoo on his right wrist. The only change being he was getting more ambitious. The last time had been a small pawn shop deep in Vanguard territory but this time he left the shop owner with a bullet in her arm and two more the wall behind her.

The Vanguard was known for having their initiation “trials” for new members; small things to prove that you weren’t afraid of getting your hands dirty. Armed robbery was different. It was too big and too reckless, even for them. Imra’s C.I.s weren’t saying much though she could tell they were scared. There was something wrong in the city; the turf wars had quieted down but gangs were still crossing boundaries. It was too clean. Too peaceful. If anything like this happened before it would cause an all-out war, but the streets were, for all intents and purposes, quiet. If Imperiex was behind all this, which evidence supporting that theory was starting to pile up, then they were in for a shit storm. The department’s only saving grace at this point was the fact that reporters hadn’t caught the scent.

“And heaven help us all when that happens,” she mumbled to herself. 

“Talking to yourself Imra? That’s never a good sign.” Rokk placed a mug of tea next to her and sat down at his own desk.

“Neither is having a case that is going absolutely nowhere.” She sighed blowing hair out of face only to have it land in the same place tickling her nose. 

“Well, maybe these can take your mind off things.” Both detectives looked up from their desks to see Sargent Louruno standing next to them with a stack of small white envelopes.

“You have been cordially invited to the wedding of the century,” she announced handing one to each of them. “Chuck and I expect you both to R.S.V.P. and come dressed to the Nines!” 

“Thanks, Lu they’re beautiful!” Imra smiled and looked at the small white and gold card. Lu smiled and carried on handing out the cards to the rest of the precinct. 

“Oh, and Imra let us know asap if you’ll need a plus one!” She called back. Imra nodded still reading the invite. 

“So…” Rokk turned back to her expectantly,

“So,” Imra gave her partner a pointed look not putting down the invite. 

“Will you be needing a plus one? I know of a certain someone who might be interested.” Rokk gave her an innocent look that was anything but. Imra bit back a sigh,

“I don’t think this is appropriate talk for the workplace.”

“Oh because we are so busy,” Rokk said gesturing to the bullpen around them. Imra couldn’t find any words to rebuttal, so she settled in, already ready to get this conversation over with. 

“I don't know I’ll have to think about it.”

“Come on Imra you two have been ‘going out’” Rokk made a point of using the air quotes, “for what a month now?”

“Three weeks.” She corrected.

“Fine three weeks, whatever, that’s almost a month at this point. Bring him.” 

“I said I’ll think about it.” She promised. Imra did like the idea of seeing Garth in a suit. But the thought of introducing him to the precinct threatened to give her hives. Not wanting Rokk to take matters into his own hands, she made a mental note to talk to him when she saw him next. Any further pandering or pestering was cut short by the shout of Captain Erin,

“Krinn! Ardeen! Get in here!” Without another word, the two filed into the small office. Shvaughn Erin was not someone to be kept waiting.

“Yes, Ma’am?” Rokk asked closing the door. 

“I just got word that there’s been a fight and some Vanguard thugs have been put in the hospital, you two go see what you can learn from them.” 

“Will do, right away,” Rokk replied and the two exited the office a quickly as they entered. 

“Finally something to do,” Imra said grabbing her coat.

“Yeah, it’s about damn time too” Rokk agreed.

On the car ride over Imra’s phone buzzed. A new text from Garth, 

_ You up for a movie tonight?  _

Imra checked the time, it was already getting late and who knows how long the two of them would be at the hospital. 

_ Just got a possible breakthrough in a case. No idea what time I’ll be done. Rain check? I’ll find a way to make it up to you. _

His reply was almost immediate

__ I can think of a couple ways ;) Stay safe tonight.   
  
  


* * *

 

The hospital was a mess of people. Imra and Rokk had to wade through the sea of people squabbling with one another just to make it to the nurses' desk. 

“Can I help you two?” The on-duty nurse ask with about as much enthusiasm as a can of beans, Rokk and Imra flashed their badges,

“We’re looking for the two kids who were just brought in with knife wounds,” Imra told him. He gave a cursory glance at the two of them before responding,

“Room 209”

Luckily for everyone, they had only sustained minor wounds, slash marks that over time would leave nothing but a scar they could show off to their friends. When Imra really got a look at them she was saddened to see that they were only kids, probably high school dropouts that felt like the world was working against them at every turn. When the two saw Rokk and Imra enter they drew themselves in trying to look invisible.

“Calm down we just want to talk,” Rokk said trying to act as open as possible. Imra stood aways back so she could observe their reactions. “If you cooperate then maybe we can make a deal. Get some charges dropped.” the two looked at each other hesitating.

“What do you want to know.” the first one asked. 

“Word on the street is that there is a new boss in town. Do you know anything about that?” The two boys dropped their gazes. Just like everyone else someone had them scared, Imra could only guess it was Imperiex. 

“We don’t want to get you in trouble.” She spoke dropping the hard-ass persona she carried the rest of the time. “We just want to figure out what’s going on” Still nothing. If the idea of jail time didn’t scare them enough then Imra wasn’t sure what would.

“Forget about it Rokk, they’re not talking.” She said making her way to the hall, “I’ll just go tell the uniforms to take them away.” She was barely out the door when the second one spoke up, 

“Wait” Imra paused and turned around.”There is something going on.” 

“Dude shut up!” The first one pulled him back but the other slipped out of the grasp.

“I’m not lying to the cops man.” The second boy turned back to Rokk and Imra, “There is something happening. I don't know what but the bosses don't like their territory being messed with, but,”

“But...” Rokk urged him. 

“But, no one’s doing anything about it. They just kinda go with it. And it’s not just us, it's the other gangs too. Even the schedules have changed.” Imra smiled, she knew that they weren’t going to get any more out of them tonight but it was still something. She walked over to them and handed them each a business card.

“If you can think of anything else, here’s how you can reach me.” Both of them nodded and just like that, Imra and Rokk left.

“Hey” Rokk called to the two cops on making their way towards them, “They’re being cooperative tonight so go easy on them.” The officers nodded and Imra let out a sigh. 

“Well it’s not much but it’s more than we’ve had to work with in a while.”

“Yeah, I just wish they gave us more. But with every drug dealer closing ranks it’s a wonder anyone will talk to us at all.”   
  
  


* * *

 

Not five minutes after Garth sent his last text to Imra he got a call from Rond.

“What do you mean we have to redo the entire top floor?” Garth kept his voice level but still couldn't hide the annoyance.

“I know you just finished it Garth but the client had a change of heart. How much will that set us back?” Rond’s voice was nothing but sympathetic. Garth flipped through his schedule trying to make the calculations in his head. 

“Eh, my best guess right now is that to rip up all the wiring and completely redo it we’re looking at about a week, maybe ten days worst-case scenario.”

“And the cost?” Rond asked. 

“Not sure yet, but it won’t be pretty,” Garth answered scratching the back of his neck, his hair, now leaning towards shaggy, was getting stuck under his collar.  _ I’ll have to get Ayla to give me a trim later. _

On the other end of the line, Rond sighed.

“Alright well if you can figure out the number’s tonight I’ll send them over to the client, maybe change their minds.”

“Sure thing boss.”

When he finally got home the only sounds he heard were from the bathroom. 

“I’m home” he called, dropping his messenger bag at the door.

“Hey before you go to bed remember it’s your turn to take out the trash,” Ayla shouted poking her head out of the bathroom with toothpaste froth dripping down her chin. Garth sighed grabbing the two black bags and headed back out the door. 

It was a clear night. The streets still had a life to them up it was at that point in the night when everyone was on their way home. He tossed the bags into the giant dumpster ignoring the underlying stench of garbage. 

Garth was just about to turn to head back inside when a figure stepped out of the shadows of the alley. Unfortunately, it was too solid to be a ghost.

“Hey, there little brother.” The rough voice was too familiar for Garth to ignore.

“What are you doing here Mekt. Aren’t you supposed to be in jail?” 

“Got out, I served my time.” Mekt smiled and took a step closer and Garth stepped back in reply.

“Yeah until you broke parole and crossed state lines, Mom and Dad called weeks ago asking where you were. And you still haven’t answered the first part of my question. What are you doing here? Last time we spoke you made it pretty clear that Ayla and I meant nothing to you.” Garth stood stall and squared his shoulders blocking off Mekt’s way to the door to the building. Mekt sighed and raised his hands in defence. 

“I’m sorry about that. But that’s why I’m here now, I have a job in the city and I want to make things right.” 

“That’s bullshit and you know it.” Garth’s hands balled into fists feeling his pulse rise. “You should leave before I call the cops.”

“And ruin our little reunion?” Mekt moved closer again except this time Garth stood his ground, “Come on Garth I haven’t even seen Ayla yet. Why don’t you let me in and we can all talk like old times.” Garth’s annoyance reached its breaking point and without a second thought, he swung. His fist connected with Mekt’s cheekbone. Pain rushed through Garth’s hand. He hoped it wasn’t broken. Mekt had staggered back but now chuckled and rushed at his brother. Before Garth could get out of the way Mekt had his pushed up against the dumpster with his arm pressing on Garth’s throat. Not enough to block his airway, but enough to make Garth uncomfortable. 

“Not your smartest decision Garth, but then again Ayla was always the smarter twin.”

“You need to leave, now.” Garth kept his voice as calm as possible. Mekt realized that Garth wasn’t going to scare easily he backed off.    

“Fine but take this, you can reach me through it if you change your mind.” he pressed a small flip phone into Garth’s hand. He opened it up to see only one number in its contacts.

“Grief Mekt this is a burner phone what have you done.” 

“Don’t ask questions you don’t want the answer to little brother” Mekt warned, and before Garth could respond, Mekt was heading off back down the alley and out of sight. 

Garth stared at the phone in his hands. He should throw it away. Or give it to Rokk and explain what had happened, he knew about Mekt. He would know what to do. But instead, Garth sighed and tucked it into his pocket and headed back up to the apartment. 

“Everything ok?” Ayla asked when he closed the door, “you took longer than usual.” He took off his coat leaving the phone still in the pocket to deal with later, Ayla didn’t need to know about it. Hopefully, this was only a one-off encounter. 

“Yeah got caught up talking to some homeless guy. Gave him what change I had on me and pointed him in the direction of the nearest shelter.” 

“That was nice of you.” She said.

“Yeah, well hopefully he gets back on his feet soon.” Garth wished before heading into his room settling in for a restless night.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everybody! Today's update is brought to you by Legion Week's Day 3 prompt: AU! For anyone who hasn't seen it yet go check out #loshweek on tumblr!
> 
> So fun fact(s): Editing/still writing this fic while also writing my first draft of my novel is harder than I thought! So updates will probably be twoish weeks apart. Anyways, things are about to pop off so enjoy!

“Hey, Imra there is some kid here who says he has information about Imperiex.” Imra looked up from her report to see a uniformed officer standing at her desk.

“Thanks, Gigi, can you take their statement and I'll look at it later.” She said returning to her report on what she and Rokk had learned from the hospital. Even though she wasn’t looking, she still knew that Gigi was still there. It was annoying but Imra was sure that if she ignored the uniform long enough, she would go away. Yet Gigi persisted,

“No can do, he says he'll only talk to you. Says his name is Garridan.” Imra stopped typing mid-sentence to quickly save and close the document.

“Ok, thanks Gigi I'll talk to him. If anyone asks where I am, say I'm talking to a lead and must not be disturbed.” Gigi nodded and led her to the interrogation room. Inside sat a 16-year-old boy looking around as if he was waiting to be jumped.

The boy was named Garridan Val though Imra first knew him as ‘Validus’, a core member of a deadly gang which the press dubbed the “Fatal Five” for obvious reasons. During the case, Imra had helped him break away from the abusive nature of that the other members put him through while he worked as their lookout and when needed, their enforcer. The boy was a tank, even for his young age Imra knew that he could hold his own in a fight, she hoped that he would never need to, not anymore. She had built up a good rapport with the kid and wanted to make sure that he had some semblance of normality after what he went through. After the task force took down the Five, Imra set it up for Garriden to stay with a nice foster family after getting out of juvie. She checked in on him when she could but she had to admit, it had been weeks since she last heard from him. When he saw her come in Imra noticed how his whole body relaxed. The teenager trusted her and she never wants to ever break that trust.

“I can’t say I’m happy to be speaking with you under these circumstances Garridan,” she gave him a warm smile, “but I am happy that you feel safe enough to come to talk to me.” The boy remained silent staring at the table.

“I’ve been told that you have information about Malik Imperiex, is that right?” he nodded, Imra could see the worried look in his eyes and proceed gently, not wanting to spook him.

“Is there anything specific?”

“I think he’s looking for me.” He stumbled out still not quite making eye contact with Imra, “I was walking back to the house after school when I saw a strange car in the driveway, I wasn’t worried at first cause I figured it could just be a check-in but then I heard shouting from the inside. I recognized this Imperiex guy from the news and stuff so I ran. I didn’t want him to find me.” While he was telling her this, Garridan was slowly picking apart his now empty styrofoam cup. He was getting antsy. The precinct environment was too clinical, too many cops, Garridan was almost bred by his gang to want to stay quiet here. Imra’s heart bled for the teen.

“Garridan?” Imra spoke softly and rested her hand gently on his. He jumped at her touch but didn’t pull away.

“Have you eaten yet today?” He shook his head, he must have been waiting all night, it made Imra’s heartache even more. She stood up and smiled.

“Let’s go get something to eat.”

* * *

Despite its unfortunate name, Bismol Diner was one, if not the, best greasy spoons in New Troy, and thanks to the proximity to Star Pavilion and favours with dealing with a crooked manager about ten years back, was a favoured spot of New Metropolis’ Finest. All this meant that Imra wouldn’t have to worry about any of the waitstaff talking, Garridan would be safe here, at least that’s what she hoped. Imra and Garridan stepped into the diner and took a vinyl booth near the back. Imra slid into the booth making sure that she could keep an eye on the front door. A cheery-eyed waitress soon came over to give them menus and told them of the soup of the day, today was Tai Chicken Curry with Chickpeas. Imra’s favourite.

“Order whatever you want,” she said smiling at the boy whose eyes rolled hesitantly over the menu. In the meantime, Imra gave her order and made small talk with the waitress she remembered helping get a job here after her pimp was thrown in jail. Back then she was called Summer, but by the looks of her nametag, she was now June. Garridan ordered some pancakes and June whisked off to the kitchen leaving the two as alone two could get during a lunch rush.

“So how’s school?” Imra asked, wanting to make sure that Garridan was comfortable, and fed before broaching the subject of Imperiex.

“S’okay” Garridan mumbled playing with the creamer on the table, “the PE teacher wants me to try out for the Varsity football team next year, says I’d make a good linebacker.”

“What do your foster parents think?”

“Dan thinks it’s a good idea, says that getting a sports scholarship is my best bet for college. Claire thinks it’s a good way for me to be more involved at school.” A smile crept on Imra’s face, the domesticity was enduring.

“And what do you think?” She asked.

“Might be fun,” he responded before knocking over the tower of creamers that he just finished constructing.

Before long their food had arrived and Garridan scarfed down his pancakes like he had been lost in the desert and they were a cool glass of water. Imra tried not to think about where he spent the night and concentrated on her soup.

“Do you think he'll hurt them?” Imra was temporarily blindsided by the question choking on her soup nearly getting curry up her nose. Now she was caught trying to find the balance between being hopeful, but not making any promises she wouldn’t be able to keep. Garriden stared at her while she tried to find the right answer and the right phrasing.

“I- I don’t know. Garridan, Imperiex is a smart man, he doesn’t like drawing too much attention to himself.” Imra knew it wasn’t the right answer, but it was a truthful one. Garridan

“Do you have any idea how he would know where to find you?” Imra asked. He shook his head and played with the remainder of the syrup on his plate. Garriden may have not been in witness protection, a decision Imra was now regretting, but all his papers about foster care were classified, Imperiex shouldn’t have been able to find him this quickly. The fact that Imperiex was looking for him at all was what worried Imra the most. The Five were the last big crime syndicate, most were still in jail but if he was uniting the underbelly of Metropolis as a whole, to put it plainly, the city was fucked. Big time.

“What’s going to happen to me now?” He asked, taking Imra out of her thoughts. She checked the clock and sighed. Technically she was off the clock and the fewer criminals saw Garridan the better. It was bad enough even if someone saw them leaving the precinct together. But to see them go back, well that was Garridan’s one-way ticket to the title of ‘snitch’. It may be against her better judgement, but right now the safest place for Garridan was with her and out of sight. The fewer people who know where he is, the better.

“For now, you’re coming home with me. I’ll get someone to check in on your foster parents and we’ll take it from there, sounds good?” Garridan nodded and Imra flagged down June for the bill.

 

* * *

 

When Imra and Garridan made it to her apartment her heart froze. The door was slightly ajar; definitely not how she left it this morning and as strong confirmation of her fears there is a crash from the inside and two voiced. She can't hear what they're saying but she recognized them as some the low-life that would do anything for cash. Instinctively she reached for her gun.

“Get behind me” Garridan obeyed immediately. She handed him her phone after a moment's thought. “Take this, if things go bad, call my partner. He’s a good man you remember him right?” Garridan nodded

“Detective Krinn”

“That's right, you tell him that there is a 10-62 I’m requesting assistance at my apartment. He will know what to do next. After that I want you to hide ok?” again he nodded. Imra took a deep breath and entered her apartment.  

Her front room was empty but the sight of her trashed apartment made the hair on the back of her neck stand up. Imra followed the voices to her bedroom stepping as lightly as possible.

The door was open and she thanked her lucky stars that she had caught the two intruders with their backs turned. One looked to be about six feet and bald while the other was shorter and had messy brown hair. Neither had any gang marks showing but the way they skipped over all the expensive electronics told her that this wasn’t any old-fashioned robbery. They were looking for something, or someone, specific.

“Hands where I can see them.” She commanded. The two froze where they stood.

“I said,” her teeth gritted, “hands where I can see them.”

The next moments flew by like flashes. The bald man reached for his gun and spun around shooting. Imra had just enough time to move out of the doorway. Two shots ended up in the wall behind her.

“Well, there goes the deposit,” she whispered.

Her bathroom door burst open with a kick and the gunman came out into the hallway.

“Shit!” Imra ran in the opposite direction hoping to get to cover. Instead, two strong arms grabbed her, pinning her arms to her sides. Imra’s gun clattered to the floor and the bald man kicked it away.

“Not so brave without your gun are ya?” he teased, tightening his hold on her. The gunman sneered aiming at her.

“Now are you gonna be a good little girl and tell us where the kid is or should we have our fun with you now instead of later?” He asked, the look in his eyes made her stomach turn.

Imra kicked out and brought down her foot on the bald guy’s foot, doing her best to use the momentum to force him to let go; thankfully it worked. She used their pain to dive, grabbing her gun and ran back down the hallway to the main room taking a shot at one of them. The bald man shouted and swore at her but she didn’t turn to look.

She ran for cover but caught her shoulder on the corner of the wall divider. She swore under her breath trying to ignore the throbbing pain. More shots rang out and she dived for the couch.

Her thigh exploded with pain. Imra dropped her gun clutching her wound. Now off balance, she slid to the floor. She hissed, trying to keep her vision straight. The gunman was laughing.

“You’re a tough bitch aren’t you Detective Ardeen.” He was crouching in front of her now.

It took all of Imra’s concentration not to pass out.

“The Boss doesn’t like tough bitch detectives though,” he continued. “They get in the way of his work and you shot my friend, so it looks like I’m going to have to take care of you myself.”

Her vision was swimming now. The only thing she could feel was the barrel of a gun against her forehead. But as suddenly as it was there, it was gone. The gunman must have heard something. Imra heard nothing, already fading to black. Her last thought before she felt the blow of the butt of the gun was that she hoped Rokk was on his way and that Garriden was gone.


End file.
